This invention relates to restored magnetic recording media and methods for restoring magnetic recording media which have become unusable due to age and deterioration of the magnetic coating on the base film.
This invention relates to magnetic recording media in general but is discussed herein in terms of magnetic recording tape. It is to be understood that the discussion of magnetic recording tape applies to tapes for the storage of various kinds of information, such as audio or video signals, as well as to other forms of magnetic recording media such as disks.
Some magnetic tapes deteriorate slowly over a number of years, and eventually exhibit the undesirable properties of stickiness and excessive shed of the magnetic oxide coating layer. These properties usually prevent the use of the tapes in equipment for recording or playback. Magnetic tapes currently in use have exhibited these undesirable properties within 7 years of their manufacture. When a tape exhibits these undesirable properties, often the information on the tape cannot be recovered and is sometimes lost. For example, excessive shed of the magnetic oxide recording layer can cause the heads in the equipment to clog, which prevents playback of the information recorded on the tape. Also, stickiness of the tape frequently leads to friction build-up in the tape path, which can cause erratic changes in the speed of transport of the tape that makes the tape unplayable. Stickiness of the tape and exudations from the magnetic coating, such as lubricants, often produce during playback tape induced noise in the form of a high frequency squeal.
It is an object of this invention to provide a method of restoring such deteriorated tape so it can be used in the appropriate equipment for playback to recover the information originally recorded on the magnetic recording tape. It is a further object of this invention to provide restored magnetic recording media from magnetic recording media which has become unusable due to deterioration, undesirable shedding and/or undesirable stickiness.